North Carolina was rated the number one state in the country for business. CNBC scored each state based on economy, infrastructure, workforce, cost of doing business and conducive to business. According to CNBC, North Carolina has a “solid economy, a world-class workforce and a wealth of corporate hospitality” — therefore, North Carolina was ranked the highest overall.
In June, Amazon announced it would be investing $10 billion in North Carolina AI infrastructure. Factors like Amazon’s announcement are contributing elements to CNBC’s ranking.
Assistant teaching professor of economics at Elon University Devon Hawkins said North Carolina, along with the other top three states for business, received this ranking because of affordability within southern states. Texas, Florida and Virginia were ranked just below North Carolina.
“The scarcity of money, the scarcity of choice, affordability, the balance of how much I can afford and my lifestyle here — the more choices we have in life, the more happiness that correlates to that,” Hawkins said. “Having that affordability to have more choices and to extend myself in areas that I wouldn't be able to afford in other areas is absolutely keeping them here.”
On top of affordability, Hawkins said North Carolina is a very low tax profit area for corporations. A lower profit tax from long-term investments often gets taxed at lower rates than regular income, which is a huge gain for businesses.
“Our trending income tax has typically been going down over the last few years,” Hawkins said. “Obviously these things have volatility, but overall, it's a very pleasing fiscal advantage that North Carolina has with lower tax rates.”
The Wall Street Journal ranked cities all over the country where college graduates are landing entry-level jobs — Raleigh topped the list for the number one city college grads are landing entry-level jobs.
Hawkins said that throughout the years she has worked at Elon, she noticed that more students in the business school have stayed in North Carolina after graduation.
“The economic stability and the growing financial wheel that we're seeing here in North Carolina is even hitting more upon the culture,” Hawkins said. “Then families want to stay as well because they really think, ‘Well, what could beat this? Right?’ There's a ton of economic research on why it's generating into one of the best states.”
Associate professor of economics at Elon University Brooks Depro said CNBC’s business ranking of North Carolina is good news for Elon students. In alignment with Hawkins, Depro said that the influx of Elon students staying within North Carolina is recent.
“I’ve recently noticed that more students are interviewing for positions in Raleigh, Charlotte and other parts of North Carolina after graduation, as well as for summer internships,” Depro said. “It's a small sample size. On a personal note, my son, a recent Elon graduate, now lives and works in Raleigh, which reflects the location’s appeal to young professionals.”